What's Up (with), Doc?

The Doc is incommunicado. Doc Rivers is undecided about whether he wants to return to the Celtics. Rivers has given media and management the slip, staying out of range of Danny Ainge, but George Karl, Lionel Hollins and Vinny Del Negro - who all took their teams to franchise-record wins this season as well as playoff berths - were handed pink slips. Karl was even awarded Coach of the Year honors, but now he'll have ample free time to construct a case for that trophy. Karl has overcome cancer - twice - however, he wasn't give the chance to overcome the Nuggets first round loss. They all did great jobs and yet are out of jobs.

The Association's postseason slogan is "Win or Go Home,"; ownership's appears to be "Win and Go Home - and Stay There." Owners are exercising judgement as poor as Atlanta radio rabble-rousers. In throwing their skippers overboard, these clubs have all gone overboard.

Reports are leaking - surely, Eric Snowden is the source* - that Rivers, who has three years left on his contract, will basically receive a cross-country transfer to the Clippers along with Kevin Garnett, in exchange for DeAndre Jordan. Even if this is what Doc is ordering, where not sure it's what the doctor ordered for either team. Should the trade be made, Rivers will will be "the hopper" Beantown backers bad-mouth.^

*it would make sense for a whistle-blower to have info on another whistle-blower.

^ to summarize: skipping commercials is good, skipping town is bad.

Oddities and Ends

A little more than a month ago, it wasn't a certainty that the 76ers would qualify for the playoffs. Now, they're one win away from reaching the Eastern Conference Finals. True, they've take advantage of their foe's flaws to arrive at this opportunity - the Bulls were hobbled and the Celtics are creaky - but as squad whose players have the least amount of postseason games under their belts* - shouldn't their opponents have been taking advantage of them? No member of the Sixers is less tested than Lavoy Allen, a rookie second-round draft pick, yet he has scored only two less points in the series than Ray Allen, a potential first ballot future Hall of Famer. That stat sounds like a sick joke, more Joan Rivers than Doc Rivers. Not too shabby for the player ranked the lowest in the league by espn.com back in October (500th, to be exact).

Jrue Holiday labeled a must-win game 6 as the "end of the world," saying game 7 is the sequel, but he has it backwards. It's more likely to be the end of the world for the Celtics because Allen and Kevin Garnett are free agents and chances are as slim as Garnett's calves that both will be back. If the 76ers lose it's fine, since they've already moved up in the world from the streets to the suites and their roster should remain intact, but if the Celtics lose, everyone will wonder what in the world went wrong.

*under their drawstrings would be more accurate